Adult learning to swim - any experiences or tips?

I am 37 and I can't swim. Main reason for this is that I never learnt at school, despite 10yrs in the shallow end trying (its no fun learning with 6-7yr olds when you are 14) I ended up loathing trying to learn and, after one experience when I nearly drowned in a swimming pool (I had to be rescued), feared it.

I am quite happy I can't swim but my wife loves swimming so I'd like to try again so we can go to the beach or a pool and do something together.

Before you say "jump in a deep enough pool and you'll naturally swim on instinct" I would like to point out that is how I nearly died, when a teacher thought that might work (starting to swim from the deep end of a pool). So I know that doesn't work, and the feeling of coming up for the last time still haunts me over 20yrs later.

Just typing and thinking about getting in a swimming pool fills me with dread, so be kind! I think I'll be ok to go through it but I wonder if anyone else has any experiences like mine.

I booked us a small hotel when on holiday last year with a very nice and quiet pool.

Every day when we came back from what we were doing, we'd chill out by the pool. If she fancied it, she could get in and I'd give her a few pointers, no pressure.

This seemed to work a lot better than turning up at a busy pool where she'd dread going (even the day leading up to it would be tough) and it was too forced once we got there.

It seemed to work better that a pool was handy, so that she could just go for it when her head felt right. Having to travel to one means you could have talk yourself out of it by the time you actually get there.

She's no longer anywhere near as scared of water, and we even managed a few breadths of the pool

Teach adults with severe autism to swim, eventually ending up in the sea so it can be done, easily in fact. Is your wife not up for helping you? Stand/kneel in the shallow end practice the arms until you've got it nailed, breast stroke not doggy paddle, its all you'll ever need.

Is there a pool with a decent pub nearby, treat yourself afterwards so scaring yourself shitless

In particular, there are a few methods of swim teaching that are more based on understanding how your body floats in the water, rather than kicking up and down the pool endlessly with a float. There are also teachers who take a hands on approach, guiding your body into the right shape. All of this is designed for people who don't intuitively grasp swimming, which to some extent is most of us, but for adult non-swimmers may be even more true.

The old school kicking up and down with a float type lessons still exist, and will obviously work for some people, but the one size fits all approach seems to fail people who just don't develop an intuitive understanding of the water that way.

The downside of fancy pants swimming lessons is they tend to be small group or 1:1 and so quite expensive. The upside is that if you have been failed by traditional lessons, you may have more luck at actually being able to swim.

There are also special 'learn to swim' camps, where you go away for a week, and they guarantee you'll be swimming by the end of the week, with teaching from people who specialise in adult non swimmers, but I have no idea how successful they actually are, or what the tuition is like. They aren't cheap either.

Where do you live? I can ask for any recommendations for teachers from swimming people?

Oh, and whatever you do, if you have a worry about being rescued or whatever, do something where the teachers are in the pool. Stupid policy at our local pool is that teachers can only go in the pool with people in a one to one lesson. Makes no sense.

I didn't learn to swim until my mid-20's.
I was in a similar situation that I hated going on holiday and watching everyone jumping into the pool, while I hovered around wishing that I could ge in for a swim...
I was never very confident when we had lessons at school and the 'just get on with it' attitude didn't help.

I booked lessons at Parkside Pool in Cambridge and think it was one of the best things I have ever done.
I am still not massively confident in water, but can happily go for a swim for exercise or jump in the pool on holiday to cool off and do a few lengths.

Just get something booked in your area and committ to it. I dithered for ages, when I should have just erm, taken the plunge!
Good luck.

I did it. I cannot remember exactly my age but I was over 30 and absolutley terrified of the water. I joined an adult swimming class in our local sports centre. There was quite a collection of people there, some wanting to improve their swimming and some who, like me, just couldn't swim at all.

The teacher was brilliant, instantly spotted I was a bit scared and took me aside to have an encouraging word before easing me into it (she said afterwards that I was pail and shaking and she'd never had anyone quite so bad).

I basically went from being terrified to being able to swim a few strokes without aids in 3 lessons. I couldn't believe it - all those lessons at school (and attempts to skive out of them), the being chucked in the deep end etc and no one ever had managed to get me to swim before.

So yes, I have an experience like you, managed to over come my fear and can actually now swim. I cannot say I ever learn to love swimming, but I still feel proud with myself for learning and still get a buzz thinking back.

I basically went from being terrified to being able to swim a few strokes without aids in 3 lessons. I couldn't believe it - all those lessons at school (and attempts to skive out of them), the being chucked in the deep end etc and no one ever had managed to get me to swim before.

So yes, I have an experience like you, managed to over come my fear and can actually now swim. I cannot say I ever learn to love swimming, but I still feel proud with myself for learning and still get a buzz thinking back.

Yeah. This was pretty much me too. Couldn't quite believe that something that had seemed so impossible to achieve had been sorted within the space of a few weeks.

If you have the cashola and there is an instructor near you I have heard good things about both the Total Immersion and Swim Smooth systems. Although they are aimed at improvers (triathletes mainly) I think it would be a good way to learn how to swim as everything is broken down into stages so you can just concentrate on 1 thing at a time.

To echo all the comments above, find a local adults class. Thought it would be embarrassing, but my local class was very supportive and after 5 months can now swim a mile (previously couldn't swim a width).

I'm not sure private lessons would have been good value for me, it's all about practicing with someone to give a few tips.

I know a man who learned to swim specifically to complete an Ironman. He swore by his local pool's classes first and the improvers classes with his tri club afterwards.

If he could do it at 50 and successfully complete an Ironman then so can you. Just have a chat with whichever coach you choose about their methods so you both know what the expectations are before you start.

70% of the world is covered in water. Not knowing how to swim means most of this world is off limits to you. That's how I look at it. I lived by the sea for the first 21 years of my life and cannot imagine what my life would have been without being able to swim in it. I desperately miss it now (can't afford membership to a swimming pool and there are no council facilities close by and the sea is **** freezing and has a shitload of massive rocks in it in this country as I found out after jumping in it this year).

Good luck with it. If you learn how to do it then keep doing it. Swimming is one of the few physical activities you can do for the rest of your life. It's also great physio!

As others have said find yourself a coach/teacher. You need to trust this person therefore if you think you may not like them or their methods keep looking.

One of my successes was a work college who at 50+ had never learned to swim after the usual near death experience. He wanted to take his grand kids on holiday and aware of holiday pool dangers wanted to overcome both his fear of water and be able to swim with them.

We started off just sitting by the pool he was so scared. We did however progress to him being able to swim a width of our local pool within 10 session. Happy man(men)

Is there such a thing as natural buoyancy? I can swim to a very poor level but find it very exhausting trying to keep afloat. I am reasonably fit otherwise and don't seem to get the same level of exhaustion doing virtually any other form of exercise. My Wife however can swim like a fish with hardly any effort. She tried to get me to float by holding me up in the pool but directly she took her hands away I plummeted to the bottom of the pool! is it psychological?

This is a nine month old thread which has been spam-resurrected, however it looks like it's something worth discussing again. I wanted to add to this,

Is there such a thing as natural buoyancy? I can swim to a very poor level but find it very exhausting trying to keep afloat. I am reasonably fit otherwise and don't seem to get the same level of exhaustion doing virtually any other form of exercise. My Wife however can swim like a fish with hardly any effort. She tried to get me to float by holding me up in the pool but directly she took her hands away I plummeted to the bottom of the pool! is it psychological?

This is me, exactly. At school I struggled like hell with swimming lessons. As an adult, my partner's tried to encourage me as you describe but even with a deep breath I plummet as soon as I'm unsupported. Forward momentum helps a bit and I could probably breast-stroke a width, by which time I'm knackered and have backache from the exertion and the curving of my body.

learn how to float, floating is amazing! and really easy, once you understand that you have to commit to putting you head right back or face fully into the water, looking straight up or straight down(this makes your legs come up to water level naturally). You need to relax too, tensing up doesn't help. Once you can do that you just need to flap your legs and arms and you'll start moving!

I have been reading some articles about this on The Guardian web site - there is a swimming blog. What seems to be good is taking it really really slowly at first, in warm water, shallow pool, until you are very happy being in the water, wet face etc. There are some specific schools mentioned - maybe one is near you.